


Midnight Lotus (Interrupted)

by J_Mi



Category: SHINee
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7328026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Mi/pseuds/J_Mi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two students. A girl and a boy. Apparently happy, both with painful secrets. The fight with oneself is the hardest, but it's a little better when your sword doesn't strike alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Even if we already knew, we couldn’t stop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone :) This is my first time writing a fanfiction and actually having the intention to finish it. I may make mistakes, as English is not my first language. And I definitely will make mistakes while trying to convey my ideas into actual words, but I'll try my best. This story is a bit personal to me, as it is inspired from my experiences, expectations and childish dreams (because everyone has those xD), arranged to look like an interesting story, I hope. The story is rated as "Mature" because it will have smut some time in the future and my mind is not so innocent (in every aspect) usually, so I don't want to risk anything hehe. Every chapter will be entitled after a verse from kpop songs, because yes, I am kpop trash. The title for chapter one is a verse taken from "House of Cards" by BTS. Enjoy ^_^

The morning breeze is creeping lightly under her dress, fluttering the vaporous material of it, as she walks slowly on the lonesome alley. Nobody but her would take walks at six in the morning, on holiday time. But that’s her routine, it helps her to put order into her thoughts, move around a bit after sitting still while sleeping and enjoy a little coolness before the scorching heat of August starts. She takes out the big, green apple she had in her purse, and bites it. Munching happily, she thinks life is not that bad-

* * *

 Lee Taemin has never been a morning person. On holidays, moreover. But this morning, he had no choice but to get up early to go fetch his brother’s wife from the airport, since he was abroad and his wife was coming back from her parents’. She was pregnant in her third month and Taesun didn’t want to leave her alone. “Then take her with you for God’s sake” was all Taemin could think when his hyung called him.  
Taemin was hurrying to get to his car, which was parked at roughly ten meters away from his house’s door. And yet, in those ten meters he managed to bump into a girl who looked like was going to choke from her apple.

* * *

  
-alright, maybe it was.

  
She coughed lightly and took a step back, as an after effect of the small collision.

  
“I am so sorry, did you get hurt?”

When she finally saw the face of the “attacker”, she couldn’t help but stare a little. A boy with blonde hair, stylish haircut, warm black eyes and full lips was standing before her. “ _Damn, they don’t make them like this nowadays_ “ she thought, as if she were talking about expensive furniture from 1900’s.

  
“No, no, I’m alright, don’t worry.”, she answered with a small smile, because even if it did startle her a little, it was definitely not something she would start bitching about. The poor guy looked scared for his life already, no need to make it worse.

“You dropped some keys.”  
“Oh! Thank you, I didn’t notice. But you dropped your apple too!”  
“I have plenty of them at home, it’s alright.”  
“Still, you dropped it because of me. Are you from this neighborhood? I could buy you another one later.”  
“Yes, I am, but you really don’t have to do that.”

He flashed her a smile.

  
“I have to, my mother would kill me if she found out, and she will find out, that I deprived somebody of their food because I can’t see before my eyes, especially since it was healthy food. I’m Taemin, by the way.”  
“Hyemi”, she simply presented herself.  
“If I see you around again, I will definitely make up for it. I’m sorry again.”  
“It’s really alright. You look in a hurry, maybe you should go now.”  
“Oh right! Well, see you around, Hyemi!”

  
After he left, Hyemi continued her peaceful walking again.  
“Well this encounter was kinda nice, I guess. He could totally be a model by the way he looks like.”  
She takes a look at herself before shaking her head and unconsciously changing her step to a heavier and slower one.

* * *

“Took you long enough, Minmin.”  
“I’m sorry Sora-noona, but you know I can’t wake up early.”  
“I was just teasing you.” the future mom said while hugging her brother-in-law. “Here, I bought you that One Piece DVD you wanted for your birthday. I know I’m three weeks late, but I can’t fly from Japan whenever I want.”

  
No, he did not just have an internal fanboying moment.

  
“Thank you, noona!” he returned the embrace happily. “How was your flight, are you feeling well?”  
“Yes, we are good.”  
“I still can’t get over the fact that my brother will be a father. I just hope he doesn’t screw everything up.”  
“Well, well, Minmin, it looks like you are a little too protective over this child.” she chuckled.  
“It will be part of the family, of course I am. Now, let’s go.”

* * *

_11:27_  
To: Hyeminem  
From: Sunburnyoung  
Hey, wanna meet up?

 _11:29_  
To: Sunburnyoung  
From: Hyeminem  
Sure, when? And where are we going?

 _11:30_  
To: Hyeminem  
From: Sunburnyoung  
At 1 PM and we can go to eat something?

 _11:32_  
To: Sunburnyoung  
From: Hyeminem  
“Something” meaning pizza, I hope you’re aware. Alrighty!

* * *

 After exchanging greetings and hugs, the two friends are heading to their (Hyemi’s) favorite pizza place.  
“You really can’t eat anything else besides pizza when we’re out?”  
“Oh, shut up, we had this coversation before. You can eat other things here too and I know you like the guy who is in charge of the chicken.”

  
Sunyoung blushes a little, before she looks at Hyemi with an unimpressed expression. And then they both start laughing.

  
“So what did you do today?”, the younger one asks, after she calmed down.  
“Woke up at 10:30, ate something, as always I can’t remember what, and then I messaged you. How about you?”  
“You know, took my morning walk, then exercised and after that I had to start the essay for Ms. Park’s class.”  
“That old goat still gives assignments before summer break?”  
“Of course. But forget about that, a guy bumped into me while I was walking this morning.”  
“A guy?!”  
“Wow wow, don’t spit your coffee on me!”  
“Right, right, sorry. How did he look like, do you know his name?”  
“His name was Taemin and he was sort of cute, I guess.”  
“Taemin?! Was he blonde?”  
“Yes. Do you know him?”  
“He may or may not be the most popular guy from my university. He majors in some sort of dance, we’re the same age.”  
“Oh, I see.”  
“Did he say anything to you?”  
“Well, because of him I dropped my apple and he offered to buy me another one when we see again.”  
“As expected. His mother is known in the school for teaching her sons to respect girls.”  
“He mentioned something about his mother, indeed.”  
“Well, be sure to give me the details” Sunyoung said and winked at her friend, who was currently rolling her eyes and smiling at her behavior.

* * *

 

Taemin is not amused when he arrives at his brother’s home, and said brother is actually home.

  
“Hyung, God damn it, you’re trying to drive me insane, I swear.”  
“I didn’t know I would arrive earlier, alright!”  
“You knew.”  
“…Okay, maybe I did. But your face is priceless.”, Taesun laughed, while embracing his wife, who started to pull on his ears.  
“Is this how you’re going to behave with your kid too?”  
“Sorry, jagyi, but Taemin is so funny when”  
“Shut up, or I’m divorcing you. We all know you’re the mature one, so please forgive him, Taemin.”  
“Don’t worry, noona, anything for you.”

  
The boy smirked at her while giving a thumbs up, and Sora remembered why she found her brother-in-law’s presence so enjoyable.

  
“Anyway, thanks for picking me up, Taemin, you were as careful as ever. Do you want to stay for breakfast?”  
“No, it’s alright, I’m going home to sleep. Bye hyung-rateful, noona!”

The door closes.

  
“Did he just call me ungrateful?”  
“You deserve every bit of it.”

* * *

 

It’s 7 PM, and Hyemi has just finished eating her dinner, after spending some hours reading. She goes back to her room and lays down on the bed. She would say she is bored, but she knows that’s not the case. As the sun descends from its heights on the sky to be replaced slowly by the clear light of the moon, the girl starts to feel lonely again. “It’s one of those times” she thinks, when she is again faced with her feelings, expectations and disappointments, when she is again breaking down, without anyone knowing.

She hugs whatever pillow finds and sobs lightly, a habit picked from when she was still living with her parents, as her tears shouldn’t be heard by anyone else. But her glassy eyes catch a glimpse of her tattooed wrist, with the kanji character “私” (“watashi”, meaning “I”), which she got done when she turned sixteen, she faintly remembers. Those ink strokes impregnated on her skin forever were meant to give her strength, to remind her that she is strong by herself. But today, the tattoo triggers her emotions furthermore, and the sobs become screams, muffled by the pillow trapped by her curled up body.

* * *

 

After a long day of doing mostly nothing and meeting up with his friends, Lee Taemin is sitting on his bed, trying to sleep. But everytime he closes his eyes, he can see her, like an after-image of his vision. He sees her smile, remembers her voice, and he decides, with a painful throb of his heart, that he misses her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was it. Short, I know, I hope to make them longer in the future. Sunyoung is Luna from F(x), but Sora is an OC, as I didn't want to make any idol a pregnant lady married to Taemin's brother, who is not a celebrity in real life. And yes, Taesun is the real name of Taemin's brother. I'm sorry if it seems too boring or over-dramatical already, trust me, I'm trying to keep it as real as I can. But there will be slip-ups here and there because it's fiction and as I said, it's my first time writing a story. So thank you for reading the first chapter and please expect the next ones too ^_^
> 
> P.S.: I want to thank my cousin (aka one of my favorite person in the world), who inspired and supported me to start my own fanfiction and my deskmate (aka the other favorite person in the world. Yes, I have two such persons xD), who is always bubbly and makes me want to improve myself in every aspect. And who supports me writing this too, because she is an avid fanfiction reader, which is, of course, not a bad thing.


	2. I don't want anything more from you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter yay *dances to cheer up and pretends to be a cheerleader*. Well this one is definitely longer than the previous one, as I felt more inspired (infires) this time. So yeah, without further presentation, let's get into the action.

 

The past days have been rainy, so the air is chilly, just the way Hyemi likes it. She is grateful that mother nature had mercy on her so she could go shop for school supplies and clothes without feeling like she would faint any second. It was Friday, and on Monday, the second semester of her first year of University would start. She hated shopping, but she had no choice, as many of her autumn clothes weren’t suitable for being worn again.

She was 30 minutes into her shopping session and was planning to spend another half an hour doing this before heading home, when a cheerful voice called her name.

“Hyemi!”

Taemin was running towards her, with a shoe box in his hands, it seemed.

“You’re quite difficult to catch, did you know that?” he answered, while smiling.

“I don’t really get out of the house later than seven in the morning, so sorry” Hyemi said, while chuckling back.

“Oh well, now that I finally caught you, would you mind letting me treat you to an ice cream?”

“Ice cream? I thought it was about the apple, and even for that, I told you it’s alright.”

“Well yes, it was about the apple, but I guess you would like an ice cream more? Or anything else really.”

“Yes it’s fine for me, but are you ok with me as company, I mean, we barely know each other.”

“That’s true. But I have learned as time passed, that sometimes you can talk to people you don’t know at all without a reason, it just happens.”

“You sound like you are 80 years old and a war veteran. Well, I guess you are stubborn enough and won’t let me alone if you don’t repay your so called “debt”, even though I keep telling you it’s fine. I prefer doing anything but what I was doing just now anyway, so sure, let’s go.”

They headed to an ice cream parlor, while talking about the weather and some recent news from TV.  The short trip was surprisingly enjoyable and they reached the place before they knew.

“What flavor do you want?”

“I’d like lemon, please.”

Taemin’s eyes widened for a moment, before asking somehow quietly:

“You like lemon ice cream?”

“Yes, why?”

He regretted asking that, now he just created an awkward situation.

“It’s just that not a lot of people like it.”

“Alright…hey, are you feeling well? You look somehow tired.”

“I’m perfectly fine, really! It’s just this weather I guess.”

He scraped the back of his neck to ease some of the tension before ordering banana flavored ice cream for himself.

The little shop was not crowded, so they found a table easily.

“Banana flavor is not something people usually prefer either.”

“True enough. I’ve always liked banana flavored sweets.” he answered, while chuckling, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I don’t like bananas at all.”

“No?”

“Nope, too sweet for me. If I’m not too indiscreet, may I ask what you have in that box?”

“Oh, sure, it’s not a secret.”

He opened the box, where a pair of white sneakers were shining in their fresh glory.

“As the second semester it’s starting, I bought these. I’m in my final year of university, I’m studying choreography and my previous shoes were in a horrible state. Like the other thirteen pairs.”

She almost choked on her ice cream, if that is even possible.

“So many?! Wow you must be really passionate about it. That, or you are extremely clumsy.”

He grinned while playing with his spoon.

“Both of them, I guess.  I do spend a lot of time dancing and perfecting my moves, but I’m not really careful with my surroundings and sometimes I slip on the floor, or run into a tree or something.”

“So I take it you did run into a tree at a point of your life.”

“Definitely.”

She couldn’t help but be amused at his words.

“Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Taemin didn’t question her about her decision, because if someone he barely knew asked him something like that he would answer “To take a shit”, regarding whether or not he was really taking a shit.

So while waiting, the boy absent-mindedly looked outside the window and he thought that he was really enjoying Hyemi’s company, but didn’t dwell too much on it.

“I’m back.”

The girl was holding two cups of hot water, each placed on a saucer, with a bag of tea on it.

“Why did you buy them, this was supposed to be me paying my debt.”

“Oh shut up already with that, will you. Take it as a sign of friendship.”

“Friendship?”

“You don’t want us to be friends?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that you surprised me.”

“ _I surprised myself too_ ” her mind was deciding.

“Well, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry for choosing in your place, but if I told you, you wouldn’t let me buy it. I have a friend who dances too, and she is always saying that mint tea is good for joints or something like that. I honestly think she just likes that tea, but anyway. I hope you like it.”

“I do like it. I don’t know about joints” he lightly laughed “but I know the taste is good, and that’s what I’m judging food and drinks on. But ice cream with tea is a weird combination.”

“I don’t see you complaining.”

“I’m certainly not.”

With that, they both smiled and finished their sweet treat.

“Well, it was fun.”

“I think so too. Are you heading home? Since we live in the same neighborhood we could go together.”

“I have to buy some things before going home, that’s why I went out in the first place. Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s alright. See you next time then! Good luck with your semester.”

“You too! Have some mercy on those shoes.”

 

* * *

 

_“Sunyoung-ah, go buy some chicken.”_

_“Why me?!”_

_“Because I am older than you and tomorrow I’m leaving, you don’t want to make me upset right?” he said, while pouting to impress her. Him and his acting skills, used whenever the situation needed it or not._

_“Oppa, you’re a horrible older brother.”_

And that’s how Sunyoung has to wait for her chicken to be prepared. Her parents were on a holiday, her twin was God knows where probably studying and her brother sent her to buy food.

While she was waiting, she ordered a pizza to pass the time. “ _Hyemi’s_ _habits are starting to rub off me. Maybe I should get her one too._ ” her bored mind thought. When she finished it, the bill was brought alongside her previous order by a rather tall and muscular man, with a sweet smile on his face. She recognized him as her crush, and her heart skipped a beat. _Lee Jinki_ said his name-tag. She tried not to stutter when he said “Here’s your order.”

“Thank you. But weren’t you working at the kitchen, are you a waiter too?” she asked while paying, because she was not one to refrain from finding out whatever information she wanted.

“Well, I own this place, so I can do whatever I want. I can do nothing too, but I don’t like being that kind of boss.”

“You are the owner?!” she didn’t even try to conceal her surprise.

“Yes, why?”

“You seem too young to have a business.”

His eyes went to a crescent form as his lips arched.

“A lot of people tell me that. You can say I’m living my dream, I’ve always wanted to own a restaurant. Well, a kind of restaurant.”

“Oh I see, it must be nice. I’ll go now, thanks for answering me, I hope I wasn’t rude.”

“Not at all. Thank you for choosing our restaurant…um…”

“It’s Sunyoung.”

“…Sunyoung-ssi. Good bye!” he greeted her politely, before she returned the greeting and then left.

* * *

 

Hyemi was disturbed from her soap-opera, which meant an episode from _Show Me The Money,_ by a loud banging on her door. When she opened it, she felt like a rocket passed by her, but it was just her friend, who threw herself unceremoniously on the bed.

“I-mhm-tal-hmn-o-mhn-rush” were the words that Sunyoung’s muffled-by-a-pillow voice let out.

“You don’t expect me to understand that right?”

“I talked to my crush!” she said clearly before starting to giggle and scream again.

“Really? Have you found out his name at least?”

“Lee Jinki. It sounds so cute. Everything about him is so cute. His arms are so beautiful and that smile…”

Hyemi couldn’t help but laugh at the girl’s behavior, but didn’t judge her on it, because it was typical to her and that was ok.

“And he owns that place!”

“Wow. Well that’s admirable, to own a business so early. He can’t be that old.”

“I don’t know his age, but yeah, he’s definitely young. Oh here! I bought you a pizza.”

“Um thanks but it’s past noon and…”

“No buts! I know you want to restart that starving-diet-self-torturing thing or whatever, but I won’t let you do it again. Firstly, because it’s not good for you health and secondly, because it’s not good for MY health. You are a total bitch when you are hungry.”

“Look, Sunyoung, I appreciate your care, but I told you before and you have to understand that I’m trying—“

“To lose weight, I know, but don’t do it like that.”

“Then how?!”

“Just be happy.”

Hyemi scoffed and shook her head.

“Why are we talking about me right now, we were talking about you.”

“Alright, then we’ll talk about me, while you eat. Because I’m not leaving this place until you eat at least two slices.”

The accused girl dramatically sighed.

“You know I can’t resist it.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Rude, hoe.”

And that’s when the atmosphere loosened up and Sunyoung started telling Hyemi every detail of her encounter with Jinki, every scene being nuanced by her personal feelings and opinions on the angles his jaw line looked good from and things like those.

“Well someone was indeed hungry. Although, it’s totally like you to a eat an entire pizza even in normal circumstances.”

The foodie here present rubbed the back of her neck, smiled sheepishly  and tried not to curse at herself for not being able to refrain herself from eating.

“It’s alright, girl, that’s why I brought it here in the first place.”

“Thank you again. Wait, let me give you the money back.”

“Oh no, take it as a present from me. Because school starts and we all need to indulge ourselves a little.”

“I’ve already indulged myself too much today. Taemin saw me and we ate ice cream together. And drank tea.”

“What?! When were you planning to tell me?!”

“You were talking about Jinki just now, it would have been rude.”

“Now I’m done, tell me the details.”

Hyemi sighs too much when she is around Sunyoung. So she had to fill the girl in with “details”, because just a short summary is not enough for her. It’s useless to say that her friend went on her fangirl mode again and started to shout “My OTP”.

* * *

 

It was seven in the evening and you could say that going to the cemetery when it’s cold and dark outside is not something anyone would do. And that it’s true, but a 22 year old boy who longs after somebody is not just anyone. So currently, Taemin is crunched in front of a grave, after he put the white roses he brought into a vase, changing the dried ones that were placed there before.

“Yeojin, hello.” he started talking to Yeojin, always believing that she could hear him. “I met a girl recently. Her name is Hyemi. I’ve met her once when I bumped into her, because you know I’m very clumsy and the second time I saw her I invited her to eat an ice cream with me, because I had to make up for an apple she dropped because of me. She ordered the lemon flavored one, just like you. It surprised me for a moment, since you were the only person I’ve ever known to like that. And I wanted to tell you this because I’m concerned. Ever since you left, it became hard for me to get close to people I didn’t know. And suddenly she appeared and I found her company enjoyable  and I’m really scared that something is wrong with me. I missed you more than usually these days, so maybe the sadness started to overwhelm me and clouded my reasoning, yeah, that has to be it.” he let out a sigh and continued “Like I said, I really miss you, Yeojin. I still don’t understand your decision and I will never judge you for it, but I can’t help wanting to see you again, alive and well. But I know it’s useless to think about that now. I just hope that you are happy where you are right now, because that’s all it matters and wait for me please.”

After finishing his monologue, he spent an hour or so watching her grave, wiping some tears when they fell, as always. He still wasn’t over her death and he didn’t think that there will be a time when he won’t cry or be engulfed by sorrow while remembering her.

* * *

 

Hyemi was lying in her bed, reading something on her phone. When she finished the chapter she was reading, she stopped for a moment and thought about her day. About her meeting with Taemin, to be precise. She was awfully talkative to him, given the fact that he was a boy, and boys usually annoyed her to no end. She didn’t know exactly why, but she supposed it was because while growing up, she didn’t have boys around her, as friends. Plus, all those cat-calls she often got while walking on the streets didn’t help them to improve their reputation in her eyes. She was starting to feel uneasy, not knowing what happened with her. She was a little stressed because school was starting, but she couldn’t attribute this to that. Or maybe she could. Well, she resumed to consider it as a slip up and let it go, people have bad days too.

* * *

 

The weekend went by and today the new semester started. Today was Tuesday and our protagonists couldn’t be more pleased, of course, as they were starting their classes.

Taemin could, miraculously, get up early enough to prepare for university and not be late, as usual. He was dressed in sport clothes, because today he will be mostly dancing, having few classes where he needed to write, so his bag was rather easy. He was heading towards the subway, when his eyes caught a glimpse of somebody else, walking in the same general direction.

_“Oh okay, this must be a weird coincidence, right.”_

* * *

 

_“Oh no God no! This doesn’t help me with my “Don’t talk to him again” politic.”_

So the two confused people found themselves together again.

“So, where are you going?”

“The subway.”

“Well then, we’re in the same boat.”

“I guess it’s fine. It’s better than to travel alone.”

After they found seats, Hyemi wanted to avoid uncomfortable silence, so she opened a conversation.

“So, what University are you attending?”

“Performing Arts. And you?”

“Science. Oh my…”

Taemin laughed.

“Yes, we are “rivals””.

Even though their schools had nothing to do with each other, academically speaking, the two buildings placed one in front of the other were always competing in basketball for the first place in the national championship. Taemin couldn’t understand why those universities even had basketball  teams and how they were so good, when none was specialized in sports.

“Do you plan on watching the match this year?”

“I’ve been watching them ever since I was in middle school. So yeah, I will. You?”

“This things have never interested me. But since now I am part of this school, maybe I will, who knows.”

Taemin started to tell her about the previous years, what was fun and what wasn’t.

“By the way, what section are you in, since you know I am at choreography?”

“Maths.”

Taemin had a sudden urge to cry when his brain was starting to picture triangles and graphics in front of his eyes.

“I’ve never been good at that.  You like it that much?”

“Yeah, I suppose. I decided to go there, nobody forced me, so I guess.”

The boy didn’t know why he sensed Hyemi getting somehow tense, but he just ignored the feeling. And good grief, they arrived at their station.

They parted ways at the crosswalk, as Taemin caught the green light. Our girl has just turned away from him when a voice she knew too well screamed:

“SWEET HEAVENS.”

Yeah, typical for Sunyoung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it and that it was not boring or over-dramatic. I know I said this at the end of the previous chapter, but I'm just so nervous about those two aspects xD Yeojin is an OC, so if there is any celebrity with that name, no, I wasn't talking about her. I don't want to kill anyone with that name. The title of this chapter is from Block B's "Toy".
> 
> Thanks for reading and please look forward to the future updates ^_^


End file.
